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766 Review
37 Karma

Review on πŸŽ™οΈ Optimized Sony ICD UX533BLK Digital Voice Recorder by David Causillas

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Without a doubt the best personal digital recorder I've ever used!

I bought a Sony ICD-UX533BLK based on online reviews and descriptions on Revain. The popularity and reviews gave me high hopes, although I was at odds with the reviews and suggestions I found for another, the Zoom H1. However, we tested the Zoom H1 side-by-side with the Sony ICD-UX533BLK recorder as the different locations and online descriptions on Revain made us unsure which would be better. I bought my college nephew a voice recorder so he can record lectures and homework and listen back to important points. We tested with different voices (male, female, child) and background sounds (paper rustling and other noises) to mimic the sounds you would hear in a classroom. Sony ICD-UX533BLK exceeded all my expectations! I've had many personal recorders (down to microcassette, cassette, etc.) and really didn't think I would find a portable personal recorder that would fit our needs for my nephew. From a distance, even with background noise, the Sony ICD-UX533BLK captures incredibly well! Against the background noise, voices, even women's and children's voices, could be distinguished against the noise. Great for recording what the teacher is saying! After testing I came to the conclusion that the Sony ICD-UX533BLK was the clear winner and helped my nephew when he started college and the Zoom H1 didn't meet our needs and cost almost $25 more so I had to have it hand back. I highly recommend the Sony ICD-UX533BLK recorder for any application where the recorder is farther from the source or where there is a lot of noise. As a speech recognition software engineer, I've often found that different voices have trouble recognizing them. My voice is loud, not too soft, but in a wide range. The recorder picked up my voice well as expected, but I was pleasantly surprised when women's and children's voices were recorded well even from a distance and with background noise! Overall, the Sony ICD-UX533BLK did well in my tests, not only better than the Zoom H1, but seemingly perfect for our needs. If you are looking for a top quality recorder that is easy to use and has a long range, I would recommend the Sony ICD-UX533BLK as it performed well in my tests. I would like to add that neither I nor anyone I am associated with or friends who work for Sony, any of its distributors, resellers, shops that sell Sony products or anything like that, so I will not gain anything by letting you honestly tell about my discovery and preferences. It's just that my nephew has special needs and we needed something to help him when he entered college. :-)

Pros
  • Sturdy construction
Cons
  • Some minor issues